The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its plan to nominate Joe Biden ahead of Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month—and not everyone is happy about it.
Over the past week, Democrats have fought over the possibility and timeline of a virtual nomination of Biden ahead of the convention, accusing party insiders of trying to “fast-track” a roll-call vote.
It seems as though the Democratic National Committee is sticking to its plan to proceed with a virtual roll call for the nomination, but will operate on a slower timeline than some members of the party feared. The committee said Wednesday that the process will begin no earlier than August 1, though it will end before the Democratic convention starts on August 19. In a letter obtained by Politico, DNC co-chairs Leah Daughtry and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said they will determine exactly how to move forward at a Friday meeting.
“We know that the Republican Party and its affiliated groups, like Project 2025 author The Heritage Foundation, plan on filing all conceivable legal challenges to the Democratic Party’s nominees,” Daughtry and Walz wrote. “Having enough time to finalize our nominees and make sure they are on ballots around the country is critical. That is the driving reason for conducting a virtual voting process.”
The plan for a virtual roll call was introduced in May over concerns that Biden would not be able to appear on Ohio’s ballot thanks to a technical law that has since been changed. But following Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the rushing of the nomination has kicked off infighting in Democratic circles.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly pushing for the DNC to push its virtual roll call.
Another critical voice is Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett, who was the first Democratic member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to step down. Doggett warned the DNC Wednesday to drop the idea of a virtual roll call. “My call for President Biden to step aside remains even more urgent,” he said. “Our decision must consider the reality of steadily worsening poll numbers, not just more wishful thinking. The risk of Trump tyranny is so great that we must put forward our strongest nominee.”
Earlier this week, members of Congress, led by Representative Jared Huffman, were circulating a draft letter arguing that Biden’s nomination should take place at the convention, as is standard practice. “There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month,” the Democrats warned. Since the letter from the DNC co-chairs, Huffman has said he will not send the letter for now.
